Emancipation

【孤高の天才=プリンス】当時所属していたレーベルとの関係から解き放たれ、自由を祝う形で自身のレーベルより発売された3時間に及ぶ超大作『イマンシペイション』 を、CD3枚組デジパック仕様で再発。

2016年4月21日に惜しまれながらも57歳の若さで急逝、全世界のアーティストや音楽ファンに多大な影響を与え続けている孤高の天才=プリンス。1995年以降に発売され、廃盤後は入手困難となっていた作品をCDやアナログ・レコード等のフィジカルで発売していくカタログ・リリース・プロジェクト＜LOVE 4EVER＞。

プロジェクトの第4弾として今回発売される3タイトルのうち『イマンシペイション』は、『カオス・アンド・ディスオーダー』の発売からわずか4か月後に発表されたアルバムで、作品タイトルの"解放"が意味する通り、当時所属していたレーベルとの関係から解き放たれ、自由を祝う形で自身のレーベルより発売された3時間に及ぶ超大作。彼の崇高さやクリエイティヴィティ、そしてエモーショナルな部分が何の柵もなく昇華された作品で、楽曲のミックスやインタールードなどを加えて60分きっかりのCDを3枚組仕様で発売。彼のスタイルやジャンル、歌詞の世界観の幅の広さを体感できる歴史的マスターピースで、CD3枚組デジパック仕様で再発される。

これまで自由に聴くことのできなかった孤高の天才の作品群が再発プロジェクト＜LOVE 4EVER＞を通じて次々とフィジカルで復刻。多くの人へ影響を与え続ける非凡な才能と数々のマスターピースが、時空を超えて現在、そして新しい世代へと受け継がれていく。

Village Voice - Ranked #16 in the Village Voice's 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. The Source - "...The artist was always many things to many people...EMANCIPATION's 36 tracks explore all the identities..." Entertainment Weekly - "...this three-hour, triple-CD set is somewhat less than the wall-to-wall tour de force our man no doubt envisioned. Which isn't to say that there's not easily, oh, an hour's worth of top shelf material here..." - Rating: B Musician - "...an operatic depiction of the conflict (or rather, the confluence) between his spiritual quest and his sensual longings and a streetwise expression of indignation as he strives to project and protect his vision....an amazing range of musical styles..." Spin - 7 (out of 10) - "...Love has renewed the musical wit and weird imagination that's always made [Prince] a singular creature. A few songs here might even make the all-time [Prince] mix tape..."

Emancipation was a critical moment for Prince, one that he designed as an artistic rebirth and, optimistically, as a commercial comeback. In a typically perverse fashion, Prince decided to make the album a triple-disc set running exactly three hours, easily making it the longest album of all-new original material ever released by a popular artist. As the first album he released since leaving Warner Brothers, Emancipation was supposed to dazzle, proving that he had not lost any of his creative skills or power. And it does dazzle, but it's hard to digest a full three discs of music, even if it is almost all of high quality. Fortunately, Prince made each disc into a distinct entity in its own right, with the first being the most pop, the second being a song cycle devoted to his new marriage, and the third being a dance/funk extravaganza. Throughout all three discs, Prince tries on a variety of styles, from jazz to R&B, but he doesn't break any new ground; instead, the album is simply reaffirmation of his strengths as a composer and a musician. Emancipation doesn't have the bristling, colorful eclecticism of Sign 'o' the Times nor does it have the wildness of early one-man projects like 1999 or Dirty Mind, but with its gentle ballads and complex jams, it signals that Prince has evolved into middle-age gracefully. It's a mature effort, to be certain, but in this case that doesn't mean that it's an album bankrupt of ideas -- it means that Prince's craft continues to grow. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|

Emancipation was a critical moment for Prince, one that he designed as an artistic rebirth and, optimistically, as a commercial comeback. In a typically perverse fashion, Prince decided to make the album a triple-disc set running exactly three hours, easily making it the longest album of all-new original material ever released by a popular artist. As the first album he released since leaving Warner Brothers, Emancipation was supposed to dazzle, proving that he had not lost any of his creative skills or power. And it does dazzle, but it's hard to digest a full three discs of music, even if it is almost all of high quality. Fortunately, Prince made each disc into a distinct entity in its own right, with the first being the most pop, the second being a song cycle devoted to his new marriage, and the third being a dance/funk extravaganza. Throughout all three discs, Prince tries on a variety of styles, from jazz to R&B, but he doesn't break any new ground; instead, the album is simply reaffirmation of his strengths as a composer and a musician. Emancipation doesn't have the bristling, colorful eclecticism of Sign 'o' the Times nor does it have the wildness of early one-man projects like 1999 or Dirty Mind, but with its gentle ballads and complex jams, it signals that Prince has evolved into middle-age gracefully. It's a mature effort, to be certain, but in this case that doesn't mean that it's an album bankrupt of ideas -- it means that Prince's craft continues to grow. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine